I guess this allows the analyst to validate their suspicions. I do not see discussion of what happens when the metadata based theories which 'justify' the mass surveillance are invalidated. I believe documentation which allows people to derive a batting average of some sort would be helpful to the public debate. Something hammer, something something nail.

Amusingly this argument is only valid when the US spies on someone else when the US gets spied on we get this:

"We must say, 'enough is enough,'" Holder said at a news conference.

Another revelation from the indictment was Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei being penetrated by the NSA. The telecom giant, the US has maintained, was an avenue for the China government's cyber-snooping.

Holder stated that it was not appropriate to compare Monday's indictments in Pennsylvania to the global spying capabilities of the US government disclosed by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The US was engaged in intelligence activities. The Chinese spying on US corporations, he said, was "to gain commercial advantage."